


Davenport Remembers

by jothending



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jothending/pseuds/jothending
Summary: Drinking voidfish ichor doesn't only bring back old memories. It also clears up places where you heard or saw static, like when an inoculated person talked about something you weren't able to know.But "clears up" isn't really the right word for what happens to Davenport. The second Barry's Command spell releases his brain, as he finishes the drink, he almost wants to be enchanted again. It'd be better than this.





	Davenport Remembers

Drinking voidfish ichor doesn't only bring back old memories. It also clears up places where you heard or saw static, like when an inoculated person talked about something you weren't able to know.

But "clears up" isn't really the right word for what happens to Davenport. The second Barry's Command spell releases his brain, as he finishes the drink, he almost wants to be enchanted again. It'd be better than this.

He's actually the fastest to process most of it, because he's good at compartmentalizing thoughts. The way he thinks is organized in a certain order, so the way their stolen century comes back to him is as straightforward as it possibly can be.

Then there's the other part of his memories. The problem: he didn't think in an organized way for the last decade. He didn't think. He remembers _almost_ thinking, now, but-- he doesn't have time to figure this out.

The world is ending. He can deal with that, at least.

\--

A week after the world doesn't end, Davenport is pacing around his room in the Starblaster. He asked everyone to take what they wanted from it-- not much, because Barry already had the important stuff in his magic chest-- and then he took it and parked it in a meadow in the middle of nowhere.

Nobody stopped him. He needs to be alone sometimes, now more than ever. But it's not helping this time. He keeps trying to think through the last decade as he chews through ancient rations, but it gets harder with every attempt. He needs to talk to someone.

It should probably be Lucretia, but he can't. He's won't be able to talk to her sensibly. Not yet.

\--

"I need an unbiased opinion."

Barry hands him a cup of tea. "You're the-- the best at those, I think, Cap, but I'll try."

"Do you think what Lucretia did was justified?" Davenport asks, and then takes a sip of the tea. It's ginger. He remembers her making it for him a few times, recently. He feels nauseous.

Barry takes a deep breath. "Hm. Uh. Which part?"

"Everything." No hesitation.

"Okay, uh, sure. Um. Mostly no." Barry says. He takes a long drink from his own cup. "If it was-- if it had taken, uh, a shorter time, and her original plan wasn't against everyone's wishes, and... Shit, I guess that's a complete no." He pauses again. "What... uh, what she did to you wasn't... that wasn't ever justified. That was-- it should've been the stopping point right then, when she saw what happened to you."

"You know what happened to me?"

"I saw you, at the end," Barry says, then hesitates a moment. "And Lucretia talked to me the other day." Of course she did.

Davenport takes a long look into his tea. Barry speaks up again, "It's okay to not forgive her."

"I know."

\--

It was the worst before Fisher had Junior, he thinks. When he was the only person on the moon who wasn't inoculated, because he was the only one who would remember things other than the relics. He couldn't comprehend that there was a second moon, or that he was on it. He couldn't fucking think.

\--

He heads back to the same house the next day, this time to meet with Lup. The only other person who got completely screwed over for the entire decade, albeit in a different way.

Her skeletal face is unreadable, but her voice is welcoming. "Cap'nport! What's up, my guy?"

It's here that Davenport realizes the both of them are avoiding using his actual name.

"Do you forgive her?"

"No time for small talk, huh?" Lup says. She looks at his face and sees how serious he is. "Yeah, I do. For what happened to me, at least."

"How?"

"I figured out what was going on after Taako took me to the moon base. And then I had a year to think about it," Lup says. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still mad. But... not so much at her, I guess."

Davenport says nothing.

"You have a right to be angry, Cap."

"I know."

\--

Lucretia used to mumble things to herself, talking about what she'd done and how she needed to get the relics soon. It would always deteriorate into apologies around Davenport. One of those times, confused and anxious from how she looked so sadly at him without knowing what it meant, he just threw a tray of drinks on the ground.

He'd been terrified, maybe of being fired, (of being alone), but of course she wasn't angry. She cleaned up the mess herself and spoke with him later, saying she was just talking nonsense.

At least she didn't apologize again.

\--

"Two fours."

"Bullshit."

Merle shrugs and takes the pile. "You're good at this stuff, Davenport. You'd be good at poker."

"I am good at poker. That's why we stopped playing poker. One five."

"Oh, yeah." Merle squints at the card he put down like he can activate latent X-ray vision. "Hm. One six."

"Three sevens." He waits, but he isn't called out. "Merle, how do you forgive so easily? How do you just... let yourself forget?"

"It's not always easy. It's a skill you work up. Two eights." Merle puts down the pair of cards. Davenport is holding three eights but says nothing. "And c'mon, I'm an old man. Doesn't matter if I 'let' myself forget or not!" He laughs at himself. "I've been an old man a century longer than I should've been. Of course I'm used to forgetting things."

"...One nine."

"Bullshit."

"Nope." Davenport flips the card to show the nine of diamonds. Merle shrugs good-naturedly and takes the deck again. "Merle, I... I could probably forget the whole decade I spent on the moon. But I don't know if I should."

"You can't approach this one logically, Dav. You've gotta follow your heart. Go with the flow."

Davenport sighs and stares into his cards. "How do I do that?"

"Two tens. Do you want to be friends with Lucretia again?" Merle asks.

"Bullshit. I don't know."

Merle takes the deck once again. "You should talk to her. It'd do you both good, but she'll never reach out to you, you know that." Davenport looks up to find Merle staring meaningfully into his eyes. "And then... I dunno. Maybe you need a break, Dav. Take the boat somewhere a little further than five miles into the plains."

"I don't know if I can talk to her."

"I do, and you can."

Davenport fiddles with his stone of far speech. Merle seems to have forgotten it's his turn, so the game's stopped until he says something.

"I know."

"Sometimes you gotta be told things you know," Merle responds. 

Davenport laughs, just a little. "I know."

\--

Davenport requests a pod to the moon instead of flying the Starblaster. It's meant to be a gesture of distrust, but as he straps himself into the pod, he just feels powerless.

He jumps out as soon as it lands and heads straight for her office. At least she didn't try sending someone to guide him here.

Davenport knocks. There's a pause, and then a familiar voice calls out. "Come in." He does.

Lucretia stands as he comes in. "Hello... captain."

"I'm not your captain. The mission is over."

"Ah. Yes. I'm sorry." She taps her fingers together over the planner she has open on the desk. It looks like the same brand he used when he worked for her, but in a different color.

Davenport stands silently. He didn't actually plan on what to say. He was hoping it would come to him.

"Um," Lucretia says, "If you want your things, they're still in your..." she looks down at her hands. "In the room you used."

The only things in there are trinkets she bought for him. Some of them were really nice things that he'd actually appreciate if they'd been given to his real self. The telescope had been his favorite thing, but thinking about it now makes him feel sick.

"I'll stop there on the way out. Thank you."

They stand there for another minute. Hesitantly, Lucretia speaks again. "Did you... have any specific reason for coming here?"

In an event that's happened very few times before, Davenport speaks before he finishes thinking. Go with the flow. "I came to let you know that I'm about to take a very long trip. So this is the last call to get anything out of the Starblaster."

"I...oh. Thank you very much for letting me know." She thinks a moment. "I'm quite sure I have everything from the ship. And I... I hope you have a wonderful trip, Davenport." The way she says his name stays carefully away from how she called him to her side as his boss.

Davenport nods formally and starts to move towards the door. "And-- and, Davenport," she speaks up again, suddenly. "I really am so, so sorry. I don't mean this as a plea for forgiveness. But if you ever need anything at all that I can help with... I'll be there for you."

He takes a deep breath, puts his hand on the doorknob.

"I know."

\--

It's almost four months when Lucretia finds something in the mail: an envelope with no return address, with only a photo inside, signed by Davenport on the back. It's a clear image of large, cresting waves under a bright sky.

She's always said her favorite color was the teal under a breaking wave.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a tumblr post but tumblr wouldnt let me post it bc it's too long WHOOPS
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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